Believing In Fate
by cuz-CM's-awesome
Summary: AU: A chance meeting in the park has Penelope's heart a flutter, the only problem; she's already in a relationship with her long term boyfriend Kevin, and besides who knows if she'll ever meet the handsome man again.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds and I'm not making any profit off this story. **

**Summary: AU: A chance meeting in the park has Penelope's heart a flutter, the only problem; she's already in a relationship with her long term boyfriend Kevin, and besides who knows if she'll ever meet the handsome man again. **

**This was written as a gift fic for Huntress79, whose birthday is in March. So Happy Birthday Huntress, I hope you like the story. **

…

Penelope Garcia sat quietly on a bench in Jams River Park. She was reading the Latest copy of 'Wired' a magazine filled with reviews on the latest gadgets and how to use them.

Her boyfriend Kevin Lynch, who was supposed to be meeting her later that afternoon, had a column in it where he talked mostly about computers, laptops and their hard drives.

Penelope was a bit of a tech herself, she knew computers inside and out but was the best at reading code. She was quite the hacker if she tried but she didn't have any use for that at her secretary job in downtown Virginia. The most she needed to know how to do was use Microsoft Word or Power Point, or even Excel on the rare occasion.

Her job was rather boring but after dropping out of University when her parents had died, it was the best she could get. She had wanted to go back to University for quite some time now but Kevin hadn't been pleased with that idea, whenever she brought it up they got into a fight so Penelope decided just to drop it.

Just as Penelope was turning the page she heard a whimpering by her feet and looked down in surprise. A small white puppy sat there looking at her, it was shaking with fear and trying to hide behind her feet.

"Hello there," she said quietly. She looked around but didn't see anyone who seemed to be the owner so she slowly reached her hand out and waited. The puppy tentatively stretched its nose out, sniffing her hand and then stepped forward letting Penelope pet it. After a few minutes, once the puppy seemed comfortable with her, Penelope gently grasped it and picked it up.

The puppy, who Penelope realized was a female, whimpered at first but once she was in Penelope's lap she settled down and snuggled in. She leaded up into Penelope's face to lick her chin, Penelope laughed at the ticklish feeling.

Now that Penelope had a better look she thought the all white puppy was a Westie, though she didn't know for sure. Then her eyes caught on the puppy's collar, it seemed that luckily enough the puppy had an identification tag.

Penelope looked closely at it and saw that the puppy's name was Gracie. On the back of her tag the owner was listed as an Aaron Hotchner and his number was written below it. Penelope took out her cell phone and dialed the number, absentmindedly stroking Gracie's soft fur as the phone rang.

"Hello," a man said picking up after the third ring.

"Hi," Penelope said "Is this Aaron Hotchner?"

"Yes it is," the voice said "may I ask who this is?"

"My name's Penelope, I believe I found your puppy in James..."

She was cut off when the man let out a sigh of relief "You did? Thank God, we've been so worried about her. Thank you so much, are you still in the park, can we meet?"

Penelope smiled at his rambling, "Yes I'm still in the park, do you know the west entrance by the playground?" When he confirmed that he did Penelope nodded even though he couldn't see her. "Good, okay can you get here in the next hour?"

"I'm twenty minutes away," he answered.

"Okay, well I'm just at a bench right inside the park, I have blonde hair and I'm wearing a red coat." Penelope explained.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can," Aaron said "thank you so much."

Penelope was barely able to get out a "No problem," before the line went dead.

She turned to look down at the puppy "We'll get you home to your family really soon Gracie," she told her, scratching her chin as she did.

...

It was less than twenty minutes when a tall, dark haired man wearing jeans and a dark t-shirt, ran up to her. "Penelope?" He asked out of breath.

She nodded, "You must be Aaron," she held the puppy, whose tail started going a mile a minute when she saw him, and he gently took her into his arms.

The puppy was wiggling happily in his arms as she tried giving him kisses, which made it difficult for him to clasp her leash onto her collar. Once he finally got it on her, he ruffled her head and then looked back up at Penelope and grinned widely at her "Thank you so much," he said "my son was devastated when she managed to get away from us. We were at the dog park and a bigger dog scared her so she ran and made it out using a hole in the fence, never again..."

Penelope just watched him, a small grin lighting up her features.

At her look, he ran a hand through his hair with a slight blush "Sorry, I'm rambling, I'm just so relived, you have no idea."

"It's quite okay," Penelope said "don't worry about it. Is she your first dog?"

"Yes, my son's been begging us for a dog for years but Haley, his mother was allergic so we never could have one, however she passed away of lung cancer about two years ago and he's just started asking me again which made me hopeful that he's finally moving on, so I thought it'd be the right time now."

"I'm very sorry to hear that..." Penelope began.

"No it's okay, I mean it's been tough but we're finally starting to feel normal again, you know?"

Aaron felt strange, he didn't know why he was telling this stranger so much about his life, he was normally a very private person but this information just seemed to be gushing out of him.

Penelope was also at loss to explain how their conversation had gotten to this point, but there was just something about this man that compelled her to want to keep talking to him.

"I do understand," she said "my parents died when I was in University and it took me a long time to get over it, but I know what you mean by starting to feel normal again."

Aaron nodded, realizing just how much she would understand.

"Anyway as for the dog park thing, I know it's nice to have some place to let your dog run free, and it's good for their socialization too so I would suggest the off-leash dog trails here. They're better fenced in than the dog park and it also allows your puppy to learn about leadership since she'll be following you. Though if you want some place she could interact with other dogs you should check out Pup-tastic Playground, it's only for puppies from two months to one year. It's relatively new and it's in a building so no chance of her running away, plus it's less intimidating that the bigger dog parks and a good place for your puppy to interact with other puppies."

"Wow, you have a lot of knowledge about this, do you own a dog yourself?" Aaron asked.

"Penelope laughed and shook her head "As much as I'd love to have a cute, little furry friend like this," she leaned in and petted Gracie who had curled up sleepily in Aaron's arms "my boyfriend would kill me, he's not really into the whole pet thing."

As Penelope pulled back she missed the flicker of disappointment that passed over Aaron's face at the mention of her boyfriend. However he quickly pulled himself together when she looked back at him. "No, my best friend has a Golden Retriever and I helped raise him, so I know a thing or two about puppies and the best puppy friendly places."

"That's too bad, you seem like you're really good with dogs, this little girl really seems to like you anyways and that's saying something because she's usually rather shy."

Penelope shrugged "Well for now that's just how it's got to be, but I'm glad I got to meet Gracie, she's adorable."

'And what about me?' Aaron felt like asking but pushed the thought out of his mind, deeming it inappropriate. Instead he said "We'll thank you for all your help, as well as the tips, I will make sure to try them out sometime. However for now I should be getting home, Jack will be impatient to see Gracie."

"Anytime," Penelope said feeling slightly disappointed that their conversation was coming to an end "I'm just glad that I could help get her back to her family."

"We'll it was very much appreciated, you just made an eight year olds' day," Aaron said wondering if he she offer her a reward but somehow that felt wrong to him "maybe we'll see each other again sometime?" He asked, allowing a bit of his hope to seep into his voice.

"Maybe," Penelope said not giving an indefinite answer "I do like to spend my Sunday afternoons here."

Aaron nodded "It was nice to meet you," he said.

"You too," Penelope answered before watching him turn and walk away.

He got about eight feet away before he looked over his shoulder back at her; he smiled, then turned down another path and was gone.

"Who was that?"

Penelope jumped as she heard Kevin's voice in her ear "Kevin! You scared me."

"Sorry," he said as she turned to look at him, that wasn't the first time he had snuck up on her, he was always just so quiet when he approached, Penelope didn't know how he did it.

"It's okay," Penelope said and allowed him to take her hand.

"So you ready for our date?" He asked.

She nodded.

Together they walked side by side out of the park, as they walked Penelope explained about the little white dog that had actually found her, and that the man had been her owner. She left out the part about their conversation or about the fact that they seemed to have really good chemistry, but it was something she couldn't help but let her thoughts keep drifting back to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't Own. **

**Please R&R. **

**Enjoy. **

…

"Garcia?" Derek Morgan, Penelope's best friend, called out to her. They were walking on a dog trail at James River Park with his golden retriever Clooney, and Derek was trying to keep up a conversation with Penelope that was proving to be very difficult.

"Hellooo, Baby Girl," he tried, waving his hand in front of her face "where's your head at today?"

Penelope looked at him and frowned "What?"

Derek shook his head "You're making me nervous Sugar," he said. When she looked at him in confusion he added "You know that had I not decided to become a contractor my other choice had been a cop because of my natural protective instincts," Derek winked at her when she rolled her eyes at his cockiness, "and with you distractedly looking around all the time waiting for...I don't know what, it's making me feel like we're about to be attacked by something."

Penelope shook her head "You're being overdramatic Derek."

Derek stopped walking and grabbed Penelope's hand bringing her to a stop as well "Listen Penelope," he said when he had her attention "I know something has been bothering you these last few weeks and I've tried to keep my distance because I know you don't like it when I meddle, but I can't just ignore it anymore Baby Girl. Please tell me what's bothering you before it drives me crazy."

Penelope sighed and looked away, her gaze moving down the path to where Clooney, who had just realized that they had stopped walking, was running back to them. "It's really nothing Derek..."

"Don't you give me that," Derek said cutting her off "we both know I know you too well for that."

Penelope looked back at him into his pleading eyes and shook her head "It's this guy..." Penelope said surprising Derek "I met him in the park a few weeks ago. I told you about him, he was the one that owned the puppy that I found. I can't stop thinking about him, he's the reason I've been looking around 'waiting for you don't know what' I keep hoping that I'll see him."

"Huh," Derek said "so you really like this guy?"

"You have no idea." Penelope looked down at her feet in shame; Clooney sat a few feet away, whining because he wanted them to get a move on.

"It's okay Penelope..." Derek began but Penelope's head snapped up and she glared at him.

"No it's not," she said with a hiss "it's obsessive, and stalkerish, I've even contemplated getting a puppy just so I can be in the park more on the off chance that I'll see him. It's completely crazy, not to mention wrong...I already have a boyfriend."

"You do have it bad," Derek said causing Penelope's glare to intensify."

But then she sighed and looked away "I don't understand it, we didn't even have that long of a conversation and yet I can't get him out of my head."

When Derek didn't reply she looked up at him questioningly "Well?" she said "Let me guess, even you think I'm a horrible person now..."

"No!" Derek said shaking his head, "I most definitely do not, I'm just surprised. Any man that could take your attention away from can't-do-wrong Lynch must be special."

Penelope glared at him again.

"Sorry," he said "but you know what I mean. When you got together with Lynch after your accident, you said you thought it must be fate that brought you together. After that no other man has been able to hold your attention."

Penelope rubbed a hand over her face "That's why it's so horrible, fate brought me to Kevin and now I'm betraying that by thinking of this other guy all the time."

When Penelope looked up at Derek he looked pensive "Maybe you shouldn't think of it like that." Penelope gave him a questioning look. "Maybe fate sent that little puppy to you, maybe fate sent you Kevin after your accident because you needed someone to help you heal but also to show you that you could do better."

Penelope bristled "You're only saying that because you don't like Kevin."

Derek sighed, knowing that he was surely in for it now "It's not that Penelope, it's just...what's that saying, fate works in mysterious ways, well maybe fate is not finished quite yet with your relationship." Derek didn't believe in fate himself but for years the only reason Penelope had given for staying with Lynch was because of fate, if he could get her to believe in another possibility, even if he had to use fate, he would give it a try.

Penelope looked like she was considering it but the she huffed "I don't want to talk about this anymore," and started marching away.

Derek looked over at Clooney and ruffled his hair "Looks like we might have to get Penelope a latte from Starbucks to apologize after our walk."

Clooney barked his agreement and then followed Derek as he ran to catch up with Penelope.

...

Penelope was sitting on the patio at the Starbucks near her apartment, sipping a chi latte that Derek had bought her. Sadly Derek and Clooney had to leave early when Derek had been called about a problem at one of his sites.

Derek had groaned about it having to happen on his day off but he didn't have any option. That was the thing about being the boss, if they didn't figure out a solution and the family that was buying the house had to hold off on their move in day, it would be Derek's problem. So he had apologized to Penelope, promised he would call her later and then had hurried with Clooney to his truck that was parked a few blocks away.

Penelope hadn't wanted him to go seeing that they barely spent any time together these days, but she knew that Derek was too responsible to brush it off. Besides at least Penelope didn't have to talk about Aaron or Kevin anymore. She knew her best friend was just trying to help but she hated talking to Derek about Kevin. The two had never liked each other and it always seemed to cause problems in both relationships.

"Penelope?"

She had been lost in thought but looked up to see, to her surprise, Aaron standing just a few feet away from her holding a coffee.

"Aaron, hey," she said smiling "what are you doing here...stupid question, don't answer that, you're at Starbucks, it's obvious what you're doing here."

Aaron laughed "Yeah, I just got off work, my office building is a few blocks away and I thought it'd be nice to get a coffee and kill some time before I have to pick up Jack from school. Do you mind if I sit down."

"Oh, of course not," Penelope said moving her purse "have a seat."

"Thanks," Aaron said sitting down across from her "I thought it was you when I walked in but I didn't want to interrupt when I saw you had company, was that your friend? I saw he had a golden retriever."

"Ah yes, that was Derek, we just took Clooney, his dog, for a walk on the dog trail," Penelope answered nodding.

Aaron smiled "I took your advice and went there a few times with Jack and Gracie. You were right; it is a lot nicer and less intimidating there. Gracie ready seemed to enjoy it and so did Jack and I."

"That's good to hear," Penelope said "the trails are really beautiful there, I'm glad you liked it. How is Gracie by the way?"

"She's doing really well. She's listening better and has learned a few commands such as stay, so there have been no more mishaps. She's gotten bigger too; it's amazing how much a puppy can grow in only three weeks."

Penelope chuckled "Yes, they get big really fast."

Aaron smiled as he took a sip of his coffee.

"So," Penelope said "you said you work around here, what do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer, I work in the Sawyer Building," he explained.

"That would explain the suit," Penelope said, the first thing she had noticed about him when she looked up was his attire, much different from the jeans and tee she had seen him in previously. She had to admit that he looked really handsome in it.

He chuckled at her response "Yes," he said "that's the same conclusion that most people come to. Though I did have a woman ask me once if I was an FBI agent."

"Really?" Penelope said, her mouth twitching upwards at that.

"I told her that that information was classified," Aaron said with a smirk.

Penelope laughed again, at the thought of the woman's reaction.

"So, what about you, what do you do?" He asked.

Penelope bit the inside of her lip, her job was far from as interesting as being a lawyer "I'm a secretary," she said looking away from him, she wrung her hands together in her lap "though I've been thinking about going back to school..."

"Really?" Aaron said "good for you. It's hard making that decision to go back to school when you're an adult but it's inspiring to see someone who's willing to do it."

"What?" Penelope asked, thinking that maybe he was just humoring her.

"I've often thought what it would be like to go back to University, it was my father who wanted me to become a lawyer like he was and even though it wasn't my dream I did so to make him happy. I do like my job, but sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again. I've thought about going back to school but it's just easier not too, plus being an only parent would make it too stressful."

"I've had some people," Penelope wasn't willing to say who "that told me going back to University was a silly idea. That since I make decent pay there's no need for me to go back and why would I want to complicate things."

Aaron shook his head "To me, I think it comes down to whether you're happy or not? Do you enjoy being a secretary? Something tells me you don't, and if you don't enjoy your work than it could be a real benefit to go back to school. Plus it would be better to do it earlier rather than later, when something in life would prevent you from it."

Penelope looked at her hands, thinking of Kevin and how when he had first told her he didn't want her to go back to school, she had thought he was being rather selfish. She looked back up at Aaron "You're right, thanks."

He shrugged "No problem, so what would you be interested in if you did go back?"

...

He and Penelope chatted for a good hour finding out that they had a lot in common, until he looked down at his watch and noticed the time.

"Oh," he said "I gotta go pick up Jack, his school finishes in ten minutes," he stood up "it was nice talking to you."

Penelope stood up too "Yes, I'm glad we ran into each other, we should do this again sometime?" She said.

"That'd be fun;" he said after they threw out their empty cups and walked down the street together "actually, I'm not sure if you'd be interested but this Sunday Jack and I are going to see a hypnosis show, we have an extra ticket because the friend Jack wanted to bring couldn't make it."

"Oh I wouldn't want to impose, I'm sure your son has another friend he'd be interested in bringing."

"Not that I know of," Aaron said "besides he was really upset with me when I didn't bring him to collect Gracie from you...I was worried about the shape we would find her in and didn't want Jack there in case there was something wrong, but anyways Jack's wanted to meet you ever since. I believe he wants to thank you in person."

Penelope racked her brain, she was itching to say yes but then she remembered just what she had planned on Sunday. It was her and Kevin's fifth anniversary, and he had told her he had a special surprise for her.

She sighed "I really wish I could," and it was true, she did which made her feel horribly guilty about Kevin "but I have plans this Sunday."

"Oh, we'll maybe some other time then," he said.

"Yeah," Penelope said as they came to a halt, they were standing beside a white RAV4.

Aaron nodded at Penelope "Well this is me," he said before unlocking the door and walking to the driver's side.

As he pulled away Penelope was still standing on the sidewalk staring longingly after the car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't Own. **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

…

"You've got to be kidding me Kevin?!" Penelope growled at her boyfriend, who was sitting across from her at the dinner table wearing at pitiful pout.

"Penny, please, I know it's the worst timing but you must understand," Kevin began, his tone begging "this is every tech's dream; I'll probably never get this chance again."

Penelope shook her head "This wasn't what I was expecting when you told me you had a big surprise for me on our anniversary."

"I honestly didn't know about it until this afternoon, but it's not every day you find out you have a chance to go to CES, the tickets should have all been sold out by this time and these are VIP, they could really give me an advantage at work."

Penelope sighed, Kevin had just let her know that his work buddies had secured tickets for the International Consumer Electronics Show and they had asked Kevin to come with them. It was a week-long event, in fact the first three days had already finished, but the best day as Kevin had explained was on Sunday which just so happened to be the same day as their anniversary.

Though Penelope wasn't going to admit it to Kevin, she did understand why he wanted to go. He was right about it being every tech's dream, truthfully Penelope was a bit envious but mostly she felt hurt that Kevin was more than happy to be going somewhere else on their anniversary. She knew that was silly but she was just disappointed.

"Penny, I promise I will make it up to you. When I get back we'll go out to dinner, at a fancy restaurant, and I'll feed you chocolate covered strawberries for desert and..."

Penelope held up a hand, it wouldn't be special if she knew what he had planned "You can go Kevin."

"Yes!" Kevin said doing a little fist bump in the air, then he smiled and walked over to Penelope "thank you," he said kissing her forehead "I swear I'll make it up to you."

Penelope rolled her eyes 'Sure Kevin,' she thought to herself.

If he had noticed her roll her eyes he didn't say anything, instead her hurried over to their bedroom and walked through the door. Penelope heard shuffling coming from inside the room, then Kevin's voice saying "Hey Todd, you're not going to believe it...yeah she said yes. So I'll meet you guys at the airport in about twenty minutes."

He walked back out with a small suitcase in one hand and his cell phone in the other.

"You're leaving right now?" Penelope said surprised "but we're not even finished dinner."

Kevin shrugged "Sorry Plum Sauce," he said "but the guys want to head out tonight considering we've already missed the first few days. Most of them are already at the airport, so I've got to go now."

"Fine," Penelope bit out considering he was already at the front door pulling on his coat. She walked over to him, her arms crossed as he grabbed his keys off the table.

Kevin smiled at her, leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. She didn't respond. "Thanks again," Kevin said opening the door "love you."

Then he was gone.

Penelope grumbled to herself as she pushed the door closed and locked it. She shook her head, telling herself that she shouldn't be that disappointed considering Kevin had pulled stunts like this before and she had taught herself to not get her hopes up.

And yet it still hurt.

She returned to the kitchen where their half-eaten meal sat on the table. Annoyance rolled off her in waves as she looked around the room. Kevin had made her dinner which she had first been so pleased about until of course she realized that he had done it just to suck up to her.

The counter was a mess. Kevin hadn't cleaned up after himself so the pots on the stove were dirty. There were knifes and veggies left on the cutting board. Measuring cups were strewn all over the place and there was some dark, sticky liquid running off the counter onto the floor.

So not only had he dropped his very unpleasant news on her the moment she had got home, ruining their anniversary plans, he had also left her with a huge mess to clean.

She was no longer feeling hungry despite the fact she hadn't eaten much and although she knew she should get started on the mess in the kitchen, she just couldn't bring herself to do it yet.

Instead she made her way to the living room and slumped down on the couch. Her first instinct was to call Derek and vent but she knew that nothing good would come of that. It would only piss off Derek and leave him with ammo for the next time Penelope was trying to defend Kevin in a fight.

She sighed, closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the couch.

Her thoughts drifted and she ended up on Aaron like she tended to do these days. She thought about seeing him on Friday and his invitation to the hypnosis show.

She heard Derek voice inside her head 'Fate works in mysterious ways.'

Opening her eyes, she looked over to the coffee table where her cell phone was sitting; she knew she still had Aaron's number somewhere in there.

"Why shouldn't I plan to go out and have fun if Kevin's not going to be here?" she asked herself out loud. Not coming up with a reason not too, she sat up in her seat and reached across the table. Grasping her phone she took it off sleep and then scrolled through the numbers she had called.

She bit her lip nervously after a minute thinking that maybe the number had been deleted from her call log since it had been such a long time.

Just before she started to panic she found it, it was the very last number in her call log. If she had called just one more person the number would have been deleted.

She sighed in relief, then without letting herself think about it, hit the call button.

Penelope waited nervously as the phone rang, biting her lip, she hoped that Aaron would still have the extra ticket and wondered what she would say if he didn't. That would definitely be embarrassing, and the thought that perhaps she shouldn't have called him in the first place crossed her mind.

She was just about to lose her nerve and hang up when the phone was picked up on the last ring.

"Hello," came Aaron's tired sounding voice.

"Um, hi Aaron, it's Penelope," she said "I hope I'm not calling at a bad time?"

Aaron's voice seemed to perk up "Penelope, hey. No, you're not, don't worry about it. It's just been a long day, how are you?"

"I'm good," Penelope said, though she knew she was lying through her teeth. She was definitely not good, not after her night so far but Aaron didn't need to know that "you?"

"Tired but good," he answered.

"That's good," Penelope said "uh, I was just calling because I was wondering if you still had that extra ticket for this Sunday? My plans didn't work out so it turns out I'll be free after all."

There was a moment's pause and Penelope began worrying the she had indeed just made a fool out of herself but then Aaron continued and Penelope could swear she could hear a smile in his voice. "You're in luck," he said "I just so happen to have that very same ticket left, but it's a good thing you called because it wouldn't have been around for much longer knowing how popular kid's hypnosis shows are and all."

Penelope chuckled "It must have been fate," she said out loud without thinking, and then blushed; Derek was obviously getting to her head.

Aaron continued without missing a beat, obviously not finding anything wrong with the statement. They talked for a little while longer as they exchanged emails so that Aaron could send Penelope information about the show and where the theater was located once she had told him that she would meet him there.

Then they had said their goodbyes, each overly excited about that following weekend.

After Penelope hung up the phone she was feeling a lot better about herself than before she had called Aaron. She didn't want to admit it but there was a little part of her that was happy Kevin had ended up going away.

She shook her head. When she and Aaron went out on Sunday, with his son, it would just be as friends, nothing more.

At least that's what she told herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait. **

**I did do a twice over, checking for mistakes but I'm really tired, so I'll make sure to go over it again tomorrow in case I find some more mistakes. **

**Enjoy. **

…

Penelope sat in her living room, wringing her hands together and looking at the clock every few minutes. It was Sunday night and she was just waiting for a taxi to come and pick her up to take her to the hypnosis show. She had decided not to drive because she'd never been to the theater the show was being held at, she was horrible with directions and her GPS was broken at the moment.

Penelope bit her lip as her eyes flicked to the blinking numbers on the neon pink, digital clock sitting on the side table. She had been excited all week about the prospect of seeing Aaron again and meeting Jack for the first time but now that the time had actually come to leave, she couldn't stop thinking about Kevin.

She felt like she was cheating on him, even if she did tell herself over and over again that it wasn't like that. She was just going to meet a friend, she reasoned but even that thought felt false to her.

She was deeply attracted to Aaron and she had only met him twice. There was just this undeniable attraction she felt when she was in his presence. Not only did she feel physically but emotionally as well.

There was some connection there.

When she was talking to him she had to make herself hold back from spilling out all her thoughts and feelings. She wasn't sure what it was but being near him, made her unguarded, she felt like she could tell him anything.

Derek had been right the other day when he had said that no man had been able to hold her attention since she met Kevin. But Aaron was different; she couldn't stop herself from wanting to be near him, even if it came with a torrent of guilty feelings about Kevin.

Penelope saw the flash of headlights from the taxi through her window and stood. She smoothed down the wrinkles in her dress; it was one of her favorite, funky dresses that looked like it had been splattered in pastel paints.

She ran a hand through her loosely curled hair and then walked over to a mirror that sat in her front hall. She looked into it, checking to make sure she still had everything in place before giving herself a nervous smile and heading out the door.

…

Penelope stepped out of the cab and thanked the driver before pushing the door closed behind her. She stepped up onto the curve, looking at the theater ahead of her. There were a few people milling around outside, most were children with their parents.

Penelope's eyes searched the people; she didn't see Aaron and wondered if she was early. She pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time. It was 6:20pm, ten minutes until the start of the show. Penelope frowned and placed her phone back into her purse.

When she looked back up she heard her name being called from behind. She turned and saw Aaron hurrying over to her. Beside him, his feet moving twice as fast to keep up with his dad, was his son Jack.

The boy had bright blonde hair and deep brown eyes that matched Aaron's. When he smiled it lit up his whole face and Penelope found herself smiling back automatically.

"Hey," Aaron said when they got to her, he was slightly out of breath "sorry we're late, ran into some traffic."

Penelope shrugged "Don't worry about it, I think you're just in time."

Aaron smiled then turned to his son "Jack this is Penelope, she's the friend I told you about, the one that found Gracie."

Jack's smile seemed to get even wider and then he moved forward to wrap his arms around her lower half, surprising her. She gave Aaron a curious look before leaning down to give Jack a hug back.

"Thank you for saving Gracie," he said when he pulled away.

Aaron ruffled his hair "Okay Buddy, let's go in and take our seats before the show starts."

Jack nodded eagerly and ran ahead.

Penelope turned and smiled at Aaron "He's precious," she said.

He grinned at her "He's a good boy, I don't know how I would have gotten through the past few years without him."

Penelope nodded, she could understand that, if she hadn't of met Derek a year after her parent's had died, who knew where she would have ended up? She most likely would have found herself living on the streets.

"I'm not sure if you'd have any interest," Aaron began as they reached the doors to the theater "but Jack's been asking me to invite you back to our place to see Gracie, ever since I told him you would be coming to the show with us. So…"

Penelope thoughts drifted to Kevin again and a pang of guilt hit her but then she mentally shook herself. Kevin was off having fun with his buddies tonight, he surely wouldn't be contemplating over how she was spending her night, he probably didn't even care and she didn't want to have to go back to a dark, empty apartment before she had to.

She looked at Aaron who was patiently waiting for an answer and nodded "You know, I think I'd have time for that and I'd love to see Gracie again."

"Good," Aaron said as he took Jack's hand and they walked up to the third row where their seats were located.

Jack insisted on sitting in-between them which Penelope decided was a good thing, when she had been walking beside her Aaron, she'd had the urge to reach out and touch him.

Jack chatted amicably beside her. He went on excitably about Gracie and how they were training her, how she liked to sleep at the end of his bed, and how she would sometimes chase her tail in circles before getting dizzy.

Penelope listened happily to everything. He made a good storyteller the way he used gestures, funny facial expressions and interesting sound effects. Penelope was sure should could have sat listening to him for hours. She'd always liked children and Jack seemed like and exceptional boy; somehow she knew it right away just as she had known that Aaron was a good man.

Her eyes trailed away from Jack for a moment as she looked up at Aaron. He was watching her intently with an unreadable expression on his face. Penelope only had a moment to wonder what he could be thinking about before the lights went dark and she could no longer see him as well.

Jack made an excited noise and leaned forward in his seat as the hypnotist walked onto the stage. "Welcome Ladies and Gentleman," the man said, he was wearing a black suit and he had a crooked grin "I'm Davos Macintosh and I will be your entertainment this evening."

He continued on in the same jargon that all hypnotists use at the start of the show warning about safety and giving a small look into the art of hypnosis.

Penelope had heard it all before but was happy to see that Jack looked like he was enjoying it.

Though when Davos explained that only people who were sixteen years and older were allowed to volunteer, his face fell "I wanted to go up," he pouted.

Aaron leaned towards him "Someday Buddy, but it would be dangerous to be hypnotized at only eight, that's why they have those rules."

Jack seemed to understand but he still looked upset, he sat back with his arms crossed; Aaron sighed.

Penelope turned to Jack "Do you know what my favorite part about a hypnosis show is Jack?"

He looked at her for a moment, even in the dark she could see that despite his disappointment her was curious of her answer, so she continued.

"I love watching the show. I think it's the best part. You get to see everyone acting funny, if you were the one to be hypnotized you wouldn't remember what had happened. It would be like you were asleep for the whole show. It's definitely more fun to be in the audience."

"Really?" Jack asked, his arms slowly uncrossing.

"Yes Sir," Penelope said giving him a little nudge "You wouldn't want to miss all that would you?"

Jack shook his head eagerly "No way," he said and he looked back to the stage where people from the audience were starting to gather.

Penelope followed his gaze and watched as the hypnotist seated the people that had been chosen. She could feel Aaron's eyes on her but didn't take her attention away from the stage.

…

Jack was laughing, tears running down his cheeks as they drove to the Hotchner household after the show.

"I liked when the girl with the ponytail started clucking like a chicken!" he almost shouted making Penelope and Aaron laugh too.

Penelope chuckled "She looked like she was going to fall of the stage for a minute there, I'm glad she didn't!"

"What was your favorite animal Dad?" Jack asked.

"I think the guy that thought he was a dog was pretty funny," Aaron said smiling at his son from the rearview mirror.

Jack broke out into more giggles "He reminded me of Gracie when he tried to chase his tail, even though he didn't have one."

"He did look a bit like Gracie, didn't he?" Aaron said.

Jack nodded his head happily.

Then Aaron pulled the vehicle onto a one-way street and pulled up in front of a cream colored, two story house.

They all got out of the RAV-4 and started up the walkway, Penelope following the other two.

Jack was bouncing about on the balls of his feet, waiting for his dad to open the door. "I can't wait for you to see how big Gracie has gotten! She wouldn't even fit through the hole in the fence where she escaped from when you found her."

When Aaron did finally opened the door Jack all but sprinted into the house "I'll got get Gracie out of her cage, it's in the basement!"

Aaron shook his head but didn't say anything; instead he turned towards Penelope and gestured for her to step inside first.

When he stepped in after her, he smiled and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She felt a tingle run up her spine at the touch and she found herself starting to blush. "Thanks for coming tonight."

All of the sudden Penelope felt flustered and glittery; it probably had something to do with the fact that Aaron hadn't yet moved his hand.

"Oh…I should be thanking you," Penelope said "I had a wonderful time."

Aaron's hand fell away from her shoulder, she felt relieved and yet disappointed all at once. He stepped farther into the hall "Well Jack certainly enjoyed having you there; you're very good with him."

Penelope felt herself shrugging as she moved to follow him "He's a very nice boy, I'm sure he gets along with most of the people he meets."

Aaron shook his head, a wry smile on his lips when he turned to look at her "You'd be surprised," he said. "Would you like a drink, oh…don't worry about your shoes."

"A drink sounds good," Penelope said walking with him to the kitchen.

Aaron was just pouring them two glasses of red wine when Jack came running upstairs with Gracie following at his heels. He slid into the kitchen and grinned widely at Penelope.

Penelope got off the stool she had been sitting on and kneeled down so that she was eye level with Jack. She reached out a hand to Gracie and the puppy began to wag her tail, she sniffed Penelope's fist and yipped playfully.

"I think she remembers you." Aaron said to her before turning to Jack "Why don't you give Gracie her supper Jack?"

"Okay," Jack said and hurried to the cupboard beside the fridge and pulled out a bag of dog food that had tape wrapped all around its sides.

Aaron's saw where Penelope was looking and chuckled "We learned a few weeks ago that we couldn't keep the bag on the floor near her dish anymore, she chewed about five holes in it during the night."

Jack laughed too, he was slowly scooping out five half cups of puppy food into her bowl "She was being naughty, so we had to put it in the cupboard."

Then he rolled the bag back up and put it away. He went back to where Gracie was eating and stood there silently watching her.

When Aaron noticed nodded and Jack and said "Why don't you go get ready for bed Buddy, I'll come in and read you a story in a bit."

"Okay…" Jack said after a moment not looking overly thrilled.

"Thank you," Aaron said.

Jack went to turn down the hall but then turned back around and walked over to Penelope, who had gotten up off the floor. "Thanks for coming with us tonight; I had a lot of fun. Do you think you can come over again sometime?"

Penelope couldn't possibly say no when Jack was staring at her with such hopefulness "I'm sure we can work something out."

He grinned widely, his teeth showing and again gave Penelope a quick hug before saying good night to them both and heading to his room.

Penelope was smiling to herself when Jack was gone.

"What?" Aaron asked, when he saw the look on her face.

She turned to face him "He's just so precious, I didn't know that there were any eight year olds that were as considerate and nice as him, out there."

Aaron eyes seemed to brighten and he stepped around the counter, coming to stand next to her "It seems I have been blessed to have a son like him."

"Yes," Penelope said with a chuckle "I'd say you were one of the lucky ones. If I ever have kids, I hope they're like Jack."

Aaron took a sip from his wine glass "Do you want to have kids?"

"Eventually," Penelope said "at least one or two, though that may be a while yet. After we talked last week I decided that I would go back to school."

"That's great," he said and he honestly seemed pleased for her "though I hope you do get to have kids, you're great with kids, Jack certainly loved you."

Penelope blushed "I don't know…"

"I do," Aaron said "you'll make a great mom whenever you decide to take that step."

Penelope took a gulp of her wine, she was getting flustered again by his proximity and compliments, and she probably shouldn't be having the wine either.

"Thanks," Penelope said when she lowered the cup from her lips.

He was looking at her with his unreadable look again. He placed his wine glass down on the counter next to them and then stepped forward.

Penelope didn't realize what he was doing until he leaned in. She didn't resist at first, instead choosing to push all thought from her mind.

Aaron pressed his soft lips against hers and when she didn't react began move them against hers. He grazed her lip with his teeth before nibbling slightly on her lower lip. Penelope opened her mouth and his tongue darted in. Their mouths danced together and Penelope moaned she had never felt so much heat and need from just a kiss.

His hands came up and cupped her face, slowly moving her way up into her hair. His mouth devoured hers and he pushed closer still, until he was standing between Penelope's legs.

She moaned again and pushed herself from the stool, their bodies coming together, leaving no room between them. Her hands came up and slipped around his neck, her own mouth finally moving against his.

Aaron pulled away and started down her neck, biting gently as he went. Penelope bared her neck more to give him access.

"Oh god…" he moaned as his mouth got to her ample chest. He licked at the top of her left breast and Penelope couldn't help the groan that spilled from her lips.

Just as Aaron's hands began to move down her body, towards her backside, Gracie barked loudly beside their feet.

The noise snapped Penelope out of the moment and she pulled back. She looked into Aaron's eyes, and then down at his swollen lips and blushed fiercely. Kevin's face appeared before her in her mind's eye and she looked down at her feet as her sense came rushing back.

"I shouldn't have…this was a mistake…I…need to go." She finally stumbled out, backing away from him.

He frowned and reached out to her "Penelope wait…"

But she pulled away shaking her head "No, I can't…god, I have Kevin…this was wrong."

She practically ran from the house, leaving a saddened Aaron behind.


End file.
